Multidimensional dynamic behavior in mobile computing

As personal computing is going mobile, applications are also changing to adapt to new life styles and new constraints, and take advantage of new opportunities offered by permanent availability and connectivity. Mobile devices are a significant departure from traditional computing. One hand, they are very personal, always on, always connected. They offer so much more than desktops in becoming the hub for our digital lives: more than just phones, they are the gateways for our social interaction through instant messaging, Facebooking and Tweeter-ing. On the other hand, they are much more constrained in terms of resources. Although progress in their computing and interface capabilities has been staggering, they continue to rely on battery power and are packaged in tight (and appealing) casings that are a nightmare for thermal dissipation. In this position paper we discuss how the characteristics of mobile devices influence the design of the system software stack and the design of applications.